


stay your hand (listen to me)

by SaraJaye



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Berkut Lives, Chocolate Box Treat, Deal with a Devil, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fix-It, Hugs, I know you are in there somewhere fight, Rinea Lives, allusions to human sacrifice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-15 17:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17533193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: He almost made the worst mistake of his life.





	stay your hand (listen to me)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EvilMuffins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilMuffins/gifts).



He'd almost made the biggest mistake of his life. The voices in his head, taunting him, the demons screaming at him to _do it do it do it_ for the power he craved, nothing mattered more, even _she_ didn't believe in him all that time. _He lied to you, he never cared, you were just a placeholder for his real son. She was only humoring you! You don't need her, do it, be done with her!_

Rinea's grip on his wrists was so sudden and so strong, her eyes unusually sharp as she looked into his.

" _Listen_ to me." She didn't let go of his wrists. "This revelation changes nothing to me. I care not if you were a true prince of Rigel, only what you have given me and done for me since the day we met! I fell in love with you because you were kind to me when I felt my most unworthy, I would have fallen in love with you even if you were a simple servant! _You_ matter to me, not status and titles!"

He struggled to refute her claims, but the demons and the voices were faltering, fading, and all he could see and hear was _her._

"Don't do this, my lord Berkut. You don't need to do this, not for me. Please."

The demons were fading. The voices fell silent. _Rinea._ The fire was _right there,_ all he had to do was take that last step and-

- _And then what? You'd have but an empty shell of the woman you love, nothing more than a pretty face and power that cost you the gentle soul you fell in love with. Is it worth it, Berkut? Is power truly worth spending the rest of your life alone?_

Her gaze turned pleading, her grip on his hands tightened, and suddenly all he can see and hear and feel is her. Dancing in the ballroom, showing her the royal gardens, the flowers he placed in her hair, her lips soft against his, the feel of her body beneath his own and the sound of her soft whispers. The cold nights spent in each other's arms.

She knew every part of him, the vulnerabilties and fear he kept hidden away, and she only loved him more for it.

_Rinea._

The demons faded into nothing, and he sank to his knees, gasping, unaware of the tears in his eyes until her slender fingers gently brushed away one that escaped.

"It's okay." She let go of his wrists, knelt beside him, drew him to her shoulder, and he held onto her as if afraid she'd disappear. "My lord Berkut, you're okay, it's okay, I'm still here."

"I'm sorry." For doubting her, for what he almost did, for letting that _witch_ trick him, for ever breaking that mirror. She can come back and demand payment all she wants, but that woman will have to get through him first. And she won't survive.

Rinea is all he has left. No power or title is worth losing her.


End file.
